Interactive+Whiteboard

An Interactive Whiteboard is a touch sensitive board that is used to engage students. It is hooked up to a computer and projector that make this interactive. It is a great way to keep all the students engaged with lessons, games, reading stories, researching as a whole group, etc.
 * Define:**

Best Practices: You can use your computer and have it show on the board at the same time. This really helps the teacher, especially with older students when taking notes. Instead of writing them all out you can type them ahead of time or as you go and they show up on the board. Teaching younger grades and using this during story time is a great because the students can follow along as the word is highlighted for them. Educational games are another way to engage the students, especially when they can go up and touch the answer themselves. A downside to using Interactive Whiteboards is that teachers could become wrapped up in the technology part rather than teaching. A way to prevent this from happening is for teachers to become familiar with the tool. There are many sites that show how to use the board and lessons and sites to use while on the board. Students may treat it as a "toy" rather than a learning tool but to prevent that, make sure you don't use the board all the time and when using the board use it for more than just games so they know its to help them learn.

Annotated Web Links:

Interactive Whiteboard Paper A paper comparing the use of the whiteboards in the US, UK and Australia. It shows how these can be effective in the classroom and how they improve the students learning.

Teaching with Interactive Whiteboards This is an article showing results in a classroom that used Interactive Whiteboards. They describe what they saw with and without them. This article shows some disadvantages and things for teachers to be aware of when using them in their classroom.

In The Classroom This page lists ways to use the Interactive Whiteboard in the classroom. There is a list of good sources to use with your board and templates and tutorials to become familiar with your whiteboard.

Created by Steffany Young